Rangers: Dujon Sterling reveals secret to breakout under Philippe Clement after Chelsea loans
Dujon Sterling has shared his feelings on life at Rangers after becoming a breakout star under Philippe Clement this season.
The former Chelsea man arrived on a free transfer in the summer yet faded into obscurity under Michael Beale, but since the managerial change he has thrived in various positions, admitting he can “feel the love” at Ibrox, where he says “I can call it home” as a permanent signing after multiple loans in England.
The 24-year-old spoke to Viaplay Sports ahead of the 2-0 Scottish Cup victory at Hibs on 10 March, three days after his first senior goal at Benfica, and believes he isn’t even at his best yet while sharing what makes him so comfortable under Clement.
Sterling said (5.14pm): “I think it’s just more that he has the believe in me to be able to do what I do. He fully trusts me, fully backs me, to do whatever he wants me to do wherever I’m asked to play.
“This gaffer’s more about what we do, whereas say under Antonio Conte [at Chelsea] it was very defensive-based. We would work around, ‘how do we stop their strengths?’ rather than what our strengths are to go forward into the game.”
On his own adaptation at Ibrox he added: “I still don’t think I’m even at 80% yet to be honest. I still think there’s a lot to go and every day I’m still learning.
“I’m still growing as a player and maturing, and obviously I’m still quite young so I’ve still got a lot of stepping stones to get to so hopefully it continues going up as it has at the minute, but we’ll see come the end of the season when hopefully we have four trophies.”
Dujon Sterling becomes Rangers skeleton key for Philippe Clement
When the 24-year-old was picked up in the summer it looked like a solid acquisition of a player who could finally give James Tavernier a rest at right-back while potentially filling in at the then-problem position of left-back.
Despite having previous links to Beale from their time at the Chelsea academy Rangers saw little of anything from the new arrival under the previous manager, with just seven largely-substitute outings across all competitions.
But Clement has turned to him in moments of need and has always got a response, with Sterling turning in a man of the match performance in Viaplay Cup final during a midfield selection crisis as the first of those possible four trophies was secured.
And now with attacking options being knocked out of contention one after another he has stepped up in an advanced role on the right, with his first goal for the club potentially crucial to the Light Blues’ hopes of reaching the Europa League quarter finals.
That he may have joined the lengthy injury list himself after going off against Hibs with an apparent hamstring issue is now a major blow when it would have barely registered just a few months ago, to show that the trust of his manager and long-term security has been hugely beneficial.
So if he can improve another 20% still he could yet become undroppable, even if it might ultimately lead to a big-money transfer exit in the future.
In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton has hesitantly admitted that one Ibrox player “has been brilliant for them”.
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